He Ain't Worth Missing
by Dara Tavar
Summary: Derek tells Casey that Sam's not worth missing after he broke up with her and moved along so quickly. But she doesn't listen to him the first few times he tells her...and she doesn't know if she can give him a chance. Dasey one-shot!
1. Chapter 1 He Ain't Worth Missing

**Wow, two one-shots in one night...I really was in the mood to write a one-shot. Well, this story is based off of the song "He Ain't Worth Missing" by Toby Keith. I was listening to the song and started thinking of a story to go along with it.**

**Well, that's all so...Enjoy!**

**Dara Tavar  
**

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**He Ain't Worth Missing**

Derek looked over at Casey. She sat alone at one of the red and blue booths along the outside of the room. There was a single light hanging above her, illuminating her face enough for him to see the pain there. Her eyes were on a couple seated not far away.

He looked over at the couple Casey's eyes were locked on, her red eyes. Eyes that were red from crying. He hated that she was crying. And he knew that it wasn't just when she saw Sam that she cried…she did at night, when everyone else was asleep, everyone but Derek.

He would lie in bed, listening…because he could hear her quiet sobs through the air vents that connected their rooms. He could feel it when she cried…and his heart would cry out for her. He wanted to go to her, tell her everything would be alright. He wanted to be able to kiss away her tears, to change the look of hurt in her eyes to a look of passion. But he never did.

Sam had a new girlfriend now. He'd broken up with Casey not even two days ago, and already he had a new girl to take her place at his side. And Derek hated him for the pain he'd cause Casey…_his_ Casey.

He knew that Casey was sad. He knew she was lonely. He knew that she was feeling blue because of how Sam had treated her. Yet he also knew how she missed him so much. And all those were the reasons she wouldn't let Derek get too close to her.

He walked over and sat across from her, but she didn't take her eyes off of Sam. She just watched him with a hollow expression, as if she just didn't have the will to care about anything else. And Derek hated him for that too. Casey had cared about everything, and everyone. But Sam had changed her.

"He ain't worth missing." Derek whispered. _'We should be kissing.'_ He thought, but knew it was too soon for that. Her heart was still raw from what Sam had done to her. "Sop all this foolish wishing. He ain't worth missing, Casey."

Casey looked over at him, her eyes looking just a little hollow. "Why did he do it, Derek?" she asked quietly, her eyes turning back to Sam. Her head was turning, her heart burning.

Derek's heart twisted at the look of hurt on her face. "Case, you've got to listen!" he pleaded. "Don't you know he ain't worth missing?" he asked again, a little quieter, hoping that he would be able to get through to her.

She knew Derek was here to save her…that he really did want to save her…but she wasn't done crying yet. Her heart was in agony because of Sam, so how could she trust Derek? His best friend…his _womanizing_ best friend. But he'd not been like that, not for a couple months now. She'd decided that maybe she should just build a metaphorical wall around her heart and not let anyone else in…ever again. And how could she? After what Sam had done…

He made her feel cheap. She'd done almost everything she could think of to keep him happy…everything but sleep with him. And she was sure that that had been the reason he'd moved on, the reason he'd gone to someone new. But it just hadn't seemed like Sam should be the one she handed her virginity to.

Derek looked at Casey, looked at her beautiful face. Her eyes were red, her cheeks flushed and wet from tears. He wanted to try and make Sam a memory…something that couldn't hurt her again. He wanted to show her what real love was, that it wasn't something to be afraid of.

He reached across the table to take her hand, but she pulled it back and folded her hands on her lap where he couldn't reach them. "Casey, you need to stop all this foolish wishing. He ain't worth missing." He told her gently.

Casey's head was turning. She knew Derek was right, that Sam wasn't worth this…and she also knew that she wanted to give Derek a shot, because she'd always had feelings for him. But she wasn't ready yet. Her heart burned because of Sam's betrayal. He'd hurt her, badly. And she wasn't even in love with him really. What stung was his betrayal, how he'd just used her. But she missed him because he'd been a constant thing in her live. Even when they'd break up, she always knew they would be together again. She'd been comfortable with him.

Derek sighed, knowing that he just needed to give her time. "If you need someone to hole you, someone to ease your pain…well, I'll be waiting, when you're ready." He told her quietly, meaning every word. "I'll show you that love is a good thing."

Casey's head snapped around and she looked at Derek with stunned eyes and a shocked expression. Did he just say love? It wasn't possible…was _The_ Derek Venturi actually admitting to loving _her_?

Derek smiled sadly. "Yeah, love's a good thing…when the one you love loves you too." He added quietly before looking over at Sam and the blond girl from their math class. He watched as she flipped her hair and flirted with Sam. But her eyes flicked to Derek and Casey for a moment, and her smile faltered a little when she looked at Casey. He wondered if she was deciding if dating Sam was a good thing or not.

"He ain't worth missing. We should be kissing…right now. Case, I'll say it again. This is foolish and you need to stop wishing he'd come back. You're too good for him." He turned back to her and looked her right in the eyes. "He ain't worth missing."

Her head was turning…but for a different reason now. It spun with Derek's words, words that she'd dismissed until now. Her heart was burning, but for a different reason. She longed for what Derek promised, not only with his words, but with his eyes as well. She wanted love, love that she hadn't gotten from Sam. And she wanted it from Derek.

Derek saw the way her eyes changed, saw the light reenter them. He knew that he was winning her over now…so he repeated the words he'd been saying all night. "He ain't worth missing. Casey, we should be the one's kissing. Stop this foolish wishing, you don't want or need him. Casey, listen to me." He pleaded, hoping that he was getting to her.

The edges of Casey's mouth tilted up in a smile that she only ever gave Derek, a smile she'd only ever given Derek…the only smile that wasn't really fake. "I am listening to you."

Derek's heart soared at those words and that smile. She didn't look so hurt anymore…but hopeful now. "He ain't worth missing." He whispered.

Casey didn't say anything, she merely nodded…and stood up from the booth to move around to his side and place herself right beside him. "Derek, I wasn't upset because I was in love with him. I was upset because I felt betrayed. I miss him because he'd been a constant thing in my live. Even when we broke up, I knew we'd be back together. But what hurt's the most, is the thought of why he broke up with me this time."

Derek frowned. He didn't know why they'd broken up, he'd just thought that they gotten into another fight and Sam had decided that it wasn't worth it anymore…that she wasn't worth it anymore. But Derek knew what was right…Casey was worth everything. And he wouldn't give her up as Sam had.

"Do you know why? You are his best friend…"

Derek shook his head and glanced over Casey's shoulder to look at Sam and…well, whoever his date was. Derek couldn't remember her name. He looked back at Casey. "Why did he break up with you?"

"Because I wouldn't sleep with him." She stated bluntly.

At those words, Derek saw red. "He what!" he hissed, his eyes shooting to the back of Sam's head. He couldn't believe it. He'd had the one thing that Derek had always wanted, but couldn't have, and he tried to get her to sleep with him. "Move please." He snarled. He wanted her out of his way, so that he could march over there and give Sam a piece of his mind…or rather, his fist.

Casey placed a calming hand on Derek's chest…a distracting hand. "I told him no, that I wasn't ready for that…and he said that when I was, we could date again. But I can't see myself with Sam in that sense."

If Derek had merely been mad before, now he was furious. "You mean to tell me that he actually said that when you were willing to have sex with him, he'd take you back?" he asked. Casey merely nodded, causing Derek's thoughts of just hitting him to turn to more painful thoughts. "I'll kill him." He snarled, his fists clenching.

"No Derek." Casey told him firmly. She wouldn't let Derek get into something with Sam. "If Sam's not worth me missing, he's not worth you going to prison over." She slid a little closer to him. "And if you were in prison, how could I do this?" she asked quietly before leaning forward to brush her lips against his.

Derek's anger seemed to melt away. How could he be angry when she was kissing him? He slipped his hands around her waist, pulling her closer. When he pulled away it was to be able to look at her. She didn't look upset anymore, but happy.

"If you didn't love him, why would you cry at night?" he asked. "And don't deny it, I could hear you."

Casey shrugged, flushing a little at the thought that Derek heard her. "I was crying because I thought I could love him…and when he did that, I knew I never could. It was the thought of how I'd lost my chance at love that had me crying."

"You haven't lost your chance." He whispered.

Casey looked into Derek's eyes and nodded. "In a way I have. I lost my chance to love him…but in losing that, I gained the chance to love you."

Derek cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently. "He ain't worth missing when someone else is there that loves you." he whispered again, just so that he knew the thought was in her head.

"No, he's not…and I don't. At least not when I have you." She smiled at him…and then smirked. "But _ain't_ is not a word."

Derek chuckled, shaking his head. "Any other girl would have kissed me because I had pretty much told her that I loved her. Only you would correct my grammar."

Casey laughed quietly. "I don't want _pretty much_, I want the actually words. And would you feel that way about me if I were any other girl?"

"Of course I wouldn't…because then you wouldn't be _my_ Casey." He smiled at her. "And I love you Casey."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He kissed her back, glad that he could hold her in his arms finally. But neither noticed that they were being watched…for Sam and his date were staring at them in shock.

One night, three months later, Casey confessed to Derek how she felt…how she'd always felt. And that night, lying in his bed while everyone else was sleeping, Casey gave to Derek the one thing she had never been willing to give to Sam. Derek never laid eyes on another girl, because Casey was all he had ever wanted.

And while they had their happily-ever-after…Sam found out that his girlfriend had been cheating on him the whole time…with another girl from their math class.

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**I wonder why I'm always so mean to Sam...I think I've only ever given him a happy ending in one story, A Dangerous Addiction... I guess I'll have to work on that...be a little nicer to him in the future.**

**Well, I hope you liked it. Reviews are greatly appreciated!**

**Dara Tavar  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is a massive update for anyone reading my stories:**

**It was recently brought to my attention that someone had stolen one of my stories and, only making the smallest amount of changes possible, was passing it off on their own. I alerted the site to this plagiarism, but so far nothing has been done. The other author updated their story recently, telling me that the site has so far done nothing concerning this problem. If nothing is done about this within the next few weeks, I've come to the decision that I will delete my account on here and never again put anything on this website.**

**To anyone who still wishes to read what I write, I will happily accept a message with an email or even if you just want to give me your profile url and I'll be happy to continue writing elsewhere and send you the link where you can find my stories as long as no one steals my stuff to post it on here (if there are any particular kind of stories, a certain movie or book, tell me and I'll message you whenever I write something to do with it). If I find out something like that happens, I'll be done writing online for sure.**

**I hope this matter is resolved, because I love writing on here and getting reviews, I only wish I got more. ****I get author alerts or story alerts, but I would love more reviews. In reality, reviews only trickle in little by little and while it's nice to be put on someone's alert list, that doesn't tell me how I'm going or give me anything to think about doing for the next chapters. If you like my stories, please REVIEW and tell me how much you like them, things you want me to do, suggestions for a spin-off story(or stories)...anything will be fine.**

**Well, lets just hope this gets fixed.**

**Dara Tavar  
**


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